Unforgivable
by WeasleySeeker
Summary: Molly thinks that after killing Bellatrix, she's almost as bad as the Death Eaters. Arthur tries to convince her otherwise.


**A/N: This is for slightlysmall for the Birthday Fic Exchange on HPFC. It's a bit sad, and maybe not entirely appropriate for a birthday present, but I had this idea and just had to write it. So happy birthday to Rochelle, and I hope you enjoy it!**

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Molly was cleaning. It was all she could do to keep herself occupied between the battle and the... service. (She couldn't even _think_ the word 'funeral'.) It made her feel like she was doing something, kept her hands occupied. Of course, there was still room for her mind to wander, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing all day, because that was what she'd be doing otherwise. Every time she thought of Fred, she would start cleaning more vigorously. When that room was clean, she'd move onto the next, and when they were all clean, she'd just start all over again. The worried looks that she'd been getting from the other members of the household hadn't escaped her notice, but she simply ignored them. She was just coping in the only way she could.

She took a last desperate look around the kitchen for something else to clean, but found nothing. Sighing, she decided she'd better move onto the living room. As she neared it, however, she heard hushed voices coming from it. Ron and Hermione were alone in there together. She decided she'd better not interrupt them. Her assessment that the door frame needed polishing may or may not have had something to do with the desire to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I... I don't get it, Hermione," Ron was saying, sounding troubled. "We're not supposed to feel this way. We're supposed to have won."

Molly heard Hermione sigh. "I know, Ron, I know," she told him soothingly. "But winning doesn't change the fact that all those people died, does it?"

"No. I guess it doesn't," Ron said, no emotion present in his voice. Then he burst out, "You know, I wish I could find out who killed Fred, and Remus, Tonks, Colin and all the others so I could hunt them down and kill them myself! They don't deserve to live after what they've done."

Hermione was silent for so long that Molly started to wonder if she was going to reply at all. Then she seemed to find words. "I... I feel like that too sometimes," she confessed quietly. "I think everyone does. But think about it—it wouldn't help. It wouldn't bring them back, would it?" She paused again. "And... it would make you a killer. That's something that would stay with you for the rest of your life."

Molly froze at Hermione's words. Suddenly, The Burrow seemed hot, stifling, and she needed to get out. Dropping her wand to the floor with a clatter, she made for the door and sighed in relief when she was hit by the stream of cool evening air outside. She walked so that she was as far away from the house as she could get without leaving the perimeter, and collapsed onto the grass where she sat overlooking the pond.

She relived the moment. That moment during the battle when the adrenaline and the haze of emotions had possessed her, and she had killed Bellatrix Lestrange.

She'd seen Bellatrix in action before, and, talented as Ginny was, a sixteen-year-old didn't stand a chance against her. She'd looked at Bellatrix's face and seen her laughing, _enjoying_ herself, and the anger had boiled up inside Molly; she'd already lost a child that day, and she was _not_ willing to lose another. So she'd pushed Ginny aside, said those two forbidden words... and there was a flash of green light, and Bellatrix Lestrange was no more.

No matter how evil the person in question was, Molly had killed someone. She'd taken the life of another human being. And like Hermione, a woman wise beyond her years, had said—she could never change that. Murder was a crime against humanity; it was called an Unforgivable Curse for a reason. Did it make her as bad as the Death Eaters? She didn't think so, but she was sure that it did make her a bad person.

Did Bellatrix have people who loved her? It was a strange thought, but she must have done. Everybody did. Her husband, her sisters... Molly knew exactly how they must feel, because she'd been through the same thing for her brothers, and now for Fred, and she hated herself for doing that to someone. Bellatrix may have deserved to rot in hell, but Molly didn't have to be the one to put her there, and nobody deserved to feel as empty as Molly knew that losing someone you loved could feel.

She was pulled from her thoughts as a figure approached from the house. As he drew nearer, she saw that it was Arthur.

"There you are," he said, relief evident in his tone. "I was worried. The dinner burned."

Molly cursed herself—she'd completely lost track of time. "I'm sorry, I'll—" she said quickly, starting to get up, but Arthur stopped her.

"It's fine," he told her, sitting down next to her. "The kids are rustling something up." He sounded a little worried about this idea but had apparently decided not to protest against their offer. He was quiet for a while longer, and Molly could tell that there was something he wanted to say, but he was wondering how to go about it. "I know it seems like things will never go back to normal without Fred," he began finally, "but things will become more bearable. I promise."

Molly shook her head quickly—he was trying so hard to make things better for her, but he just didn't understand. "I know. But... that isn't what's wrong."

"Really?" he asked, looking surprised.

"I... I killed someone," she whispered. "I killed a real, living human being. Does that make me a bad person?" It was all too much for her: a tear began rolling down her cheek.

"No," Arthur said immediately. He paused for a moment, and Molly could almost see him formulating his thoughts in his head. "In all the time I've known you, you've never once done anything to hurt another person, unless it was to help somebody else," he told her. "Can you not see that this is another one of those instances?"

"But... Bellatrix..."

"Bellatrix was possibly the most evil and twisted person I've ever met, other than You-Kno—_Voldemort_ himself," Arthur said firmly, and out of habit, Molly couldn't help flinching at the name. "She tortured and murdered people for absolutely no reason, and think how many more she could have killed if you hadn't got rid of her. You were protecting our daughter," he said more softly.

"I... I suppose you're right," Molly said reluctantly, wiping her eyes and resting her head on her husband's shoulder. "It's just so much to get my head around. _All_ of this is," she added.

Arthur nodded. "I understand," he reassured her. "But it's like that for everyone. Nobody's expecting everything to be better overnight. There's time."

"Thank you," Molly said quietly, all other words eluding her as she kissed him softly. "For everything."

Arthur shrugged. "Well, you spend so much time looking after all of us... I thought it was only fair that I looked after you for a change."

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**A/N: This is also for Charms on the School Subjects Competition and for the prompt "never" on the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp.**

**Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to J K Rowling.**


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